Computer devices are increasingly being used to store contact data. It is not uncommon for a user to store contact data in devices and locations such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers and servers connected to the Internet. Synchronization applications have been developed to help users synchronize contact data stored in different locations. For example, after updating a phone number stored in a mobile telephone, a particular synchronization application may be used to synchronize the updated phone number with contact data stored in an application such as Microsoft® Outlook®.
There are several drawbacks associated with the prior art systems and methods for synchronizing contact data. Each device typically requires a unique synchronization application in order to synchronize data with another device and location. A mobile telephone might require a first synchronization application to synchronize data with Microsoft® Outlook®, a second synchronization application to synchronize data with a PDA and may be incapable of synchronizing data with a server connected to the Internet. As a result, users are typically forced to implement inconvenient and ad hoc procedures for updating contact information stored in different devices and locations. These procedures can be burdensome and frequently result in the synchronization of less than all of a user's contact data.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for synchronization systems and methods that allow users to conveniently and accurately synchronize contact and other data stored in different devices and locations.